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Pugs are a popular choice for many families.
Play Behaviors
Play behaviors are characterized by postures or vocal sounds that indicate a willingness to interact in a positive, playful manner. When young Pugs interact with human family members they often exhibit play behaviors as if they were playing with a littermate. Play behavior in dogs is one of social interaction and relationship building. The ability to play with other well-socialized dogs, accompanied by play with human family members, allows a puppy to learn problem-solving skills, provides necessary mental and physical stimulation, builds confidence, and teaches proper interaction skills.
Play Postures: The “play bow” is one of the most common body postures that a Pug uses to indicate a playful interaction. A Pug soliciting play will often drop onto his front legs, elbows on the floor, and subsequently lower his head, while keeping the rear end elevated, his tail uncurled and wagging during the display. This playful display may be accompanied by short, repetitive barking—the puppy’s verbal attempt to say, “Play with me!”
Pugs are also noted for running through a room full speed ahead, with their back arched and their tail tucked, spinning and barking. They may jump on toys during the “fit” or lunge out to bite at anyone or anything within reach. They will stop to bark and then resume the “Pug run,” seeming to gain momentum whenever their owners laugh at their antics. This behavior may seem unusual but it is a normal outlet for play energy in the Pug.
The play bow is your Pug’s way of saying “play with me!”
Play Biting: Play among puppies can include slamming into each other, chasing sequences, and biting—all of which are very normal play behaviors in dogs. They bite each other’s ears, tails, feet, and legs during playful interactions. A very bold puppy may pin a less confident playmate by the back of the neck, growling and shaking the skin as if to say, “I’m the boss!”
Pug puppies are no exception when it comes to using their teeth during play. Play biting is one of the most common complaints from their owners. With or without socks, unsuspecting human toes become a target, taking the place of a littermate’s ears and tail. Baggy clothing may also become a favorite plaything. Many Pug puppies also vocalize during play, growling whenever their teeth find something to sink into. Barking, growling, and biting can all be part of normal play routines, but these common canine behaviors are often misinterpreted as aggressive or dominant actions by their owners. When a Pug puppy presents itself in a play bow, barking in a high-pitched tone and then begins to engage in biting toes or clothing, he is exhibiting normal play behaviors. This may escalate to growling once he has hold of a pant leg. Behaviors such as these normally decrease over time as the puppy matures. Chapter 8 offers ways to minimize your Pug’s play biting.
Chewing
Dogs learn to explore their environments by observing their surroundings, using scent discrimination to investigate new objects, followed by an exploratory chew. If something warrants further investigation, a dog will often place the object in his mouth simply to find out what will happen. The chewing of objects satisfies a dog’s natural curiosity, and is a primal instinct carried on from a dog’s wild ancestors.
Chewing is a normal behavior for Pug puppies.
Chewing also serves as a means of relieving the discomfort caused by the eruption of puppy teeth. The desire to chew can also be an outlet for nervous or anxious behaviors, and is a normal way for a Pug to get rid of energy.
Canine Communication
Dogs have a complex language all their own. Their ability to send messages, receive and interpret signals, and respond to one another is nothing short of amazing. Teaching a Pug successfully requires knowing how to communicate your wishes in a language that he can understand.
Pugs, like all other dogs, do not inherently understand human words. In order to communicate in “dog language” you must first understand how dogs communicate with each other and reproduce those skills effectively during training.
Social Hierarchies
Dogs are a social species and are most at ease in a home that provides them with stable opportunities for socialization. These social relationships, or hierarchies, have a direct effect on a dog’s behavior. Communication between members of the social family occurs constantly, using body language and vocal sounds to reinforce each member’s position within the hierarchy.
Each individual within a dog’s canine family or pack assumes a role or ranking position. Those individuals who are assertive and confident assume a dominant role, or leadership position. Individuals who do not display confident behaviors or are nervous or fearful are looked upon as subordinates. Within any given social family, an individual may assume a dominant role over some members, but quickly assume a subordinate role with other more confident individuals.
When a Pug puppy enters a human family, people become his pack or litter-mates. A great deal of time is spent observing each individual’s behavior, watching body language and listening to different voices, in an effort to determine his or her role in the hierarchy. Each time there is an interaction with this new family, the puppy is learning either to assert himself into a dominant role or act submissively, due partly in response to how the human individuals act and react. Adults often produce a submissive response from a puppy, while children may be viewed as subordinates. These “lower-ranking” individuals may quickly become a target for manipulative or play behaviors from the puppy, such as nipping and biting.
Body Language
The majority of canine communication is done through observation of body language, particularly facial expressions. Leaders in a canine hierarchy clearly exhibit confident body language, such as standing tall with erect ears and tail and making direct eye contact, while subordinates assume a posture that is lowered, avoiding eye contact and dropping their tails. A dog who wishes to display submission or avoid a confrontation may try to position himself under another dog’s chin, and lick at the dog’s lips or chin. He then rolls over on his back, presenting his belly to the more dominant individual. He may also lower his head and urinate submissively, a clear signal in dog language that he assumes a subordinate role to the approaching individual.
Human family members who are tall or have deep voices are at an advantage, as they are often automatically perceived by their Pugs to be in a leadership role. It is not uncommon to hear of Pugs who “only listen to the husband.” These dogs believe men to be in a leadership role because their body posture and deep vocal patterns are recognized as strong leadership signals. These same individuals are often the unhappy recipients of a Pug puppy’s submissive urination each time the puppy is approached.
Correctly interpreting the body language of some family members may be somewhat difficult for a puppy. Remember that your young Pug is constantly observing his new family trying to adapt to his new social hierarchy. Women often exhibit body language that quickly changes from a leadership position to subordinate and then back to leader. The nurturing or “mothering” instinct that many women have—constantly picking the puppy up to hug it or bending down to give it affection—may conflict with their attempts to reprimand or control the puppy. Children, especially infants and toddlers,
